A 25 Fic Challenge
by multishippingexpert
Summary: A 25 fic challenge. Iggy gets attacked in Wal-Mart, Max attempts to cook  again , and Nudge loses a bet...and that's just the beginning. Plenty of laughs, some fax, etc. Also, message me if you're interested in helping with something. Read on.
1. Wal Mart

A/N: Alright, here's that 25-fic challenge that I promised you guys. Keep in mind that this chapter is the first of many. This one's called Wal-Mart, because, well, the word is Wal-Mart. (If you wanna know what the others are, just message me.) Also, I've got parts of another two written, and spring break just started for me, so if I write a lot, you may see another one up this week or early next. They're not gonna be in any particular order, this just happened to be the first one I finished. And I have to say, this was really interesting to write. I learned a lot of very important things. For one, it's really hard to write in the POV of a blind person. I really didn't realize how hard it was gonna be until Iggy stepped onto the Wal-Mart parking-lot and I had no idea how to help him find the front entrance. I mean, getting him through the town and down the street was no biggie, but crossing a parking lot? Oooh, tough. Really goes to show you how intersting writing can be. I actually finished this chapter a week ago, edited, spiffed up, ready to post. But then I decided I hated the entire second half and had to erase it and start all over. And then I thought about how much easier it would be to have Total tag along with Iggy and be his eyes, and almost /re/wrote it, but then I said to myself, "Oh, suck it up and write." So I did.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride. Or Wal-Mart. Or McDonald's. Or Barbie. Or Mardi-Gras.**

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**Wal-Mart**

Max's POV:

I looked around at the moonlit clearing in the forest. The Flock was close around me; Angel and Nudge curled up in a heap, Total flopped onto his back drooling, Gazzy sprawled out on a patch of grass, wings spread out, Fang sitting beside me. The night was calm, and the mood was right, but I just couldn't seem to relax.

I turned to Fang for the millionth time.

"I'm still not sure how good of an idea it was to send the blind kid to get food." I bit my lip.

"Don't worry," Fang replied for the millionth time, squeezing my hand. "He'll be fine. I mean, he's not just any blind kid. He's Iggy."

I sighed. Maybe Fang was right. I mean, Iggy _wasn't _just any blind kid. He was the same age as Fang and I, and I knew he was more mature than I gave him credit for. Maybe I hadn't made a bad decision.

"Fine. But I'm taking first watch." I sunk back against a tree trunk. I was gonna be awake when Iggy came back, just to make sure he was fine.

"Besides," Fang continued, "what's the worst that could happen?"

Famous last words.

Iggy's POV:

Alright.

So call me crazy, but maybe sending a blind kid to restock on the food that would sustain five other kids for a week is a bad idea.

I mean, I know for being blind, I'm pretty independent. But sending me into a big town that I've only been in for one afternoon? Genius.

I wondered why Max had chosen me to go rob a store. I mean, usually Fang did this kind of thing considering he was her second-in-command and could, you know, _see_, but who knows. Who knows why they sent me. Who knows what those two were doing. Alone. Just now. At this very moment...

I had a feeling it wasn't keeping watch.

I continued to walk down the street, my right hand trailing along the brick wall of a building to ensure that I didn't trip into the middle of a street and get run over, although I'm sure that wouldn't affect the world greatly, or anything. I was vaguely familiar with the area since the flock had been here earlier to rest up and eat, so I knew which direction to head in to find the nearest grocery store.

I recognized the smells coming from a cafe on my right, so I knew the McDonald's we'd eaten at for lunch was to my left across the road. That meant if I walked down a couple more blocks, I'd get to a four-way where I could make a right and get to the Wal-Mart we'd passed earlier.

Good. So at least I had a vague idea of where I was going.

It didn't take me long to get to the Wal-Mart. I could hear teens gathering shopping carts for minimum wage before I even stepped onto the parking lot. I threaded my way through the lines of cars, trying to find the front entrance. It only took me three minutes and one activated car alarm from when I tripped over a speed bump onto a jeep. (I ran. Fast.), and I was sauntering through the sliding front doors.

'You can do this, Ig.' I told myself, trying to pump myself up on confidence. 'You are the man. You _own_.' Ignoring the old greeter trying to shove a cart into my abdomen, I jauntily walked into the supercenter.

Now, I've been in my share of Wal-Marts. They're all laid out in roughly the same way, I mean, they don't get too creative with the floor plans. I figured that the bakery would be right near the entrance, so I followed my nose and turned right after walking past the cash registers. I could feel cold air coming at me from my right, where I guessed the refrigerated cake displays and deli were, and to my left, I could smell rows of shelves holding every kind of bread imaginable. I walked through the aisles of bread, covertly sniffing every other loaf to see which one I wanted. After picking out a wheaty smelling one, I made my way over to the fruits and vegetables and proceeded to do the same thing. I'm pretty sure I got a fair share of odd glances from the occasional civilian, but I did get some good bananas and apples out of it.

Being in a grocery store reminded me of the old times, when we still lived at the E-house. The smells coming from the food around me, and, heck, the fact that there _was_ food around me, reminded me of when we weren't living on the run, when I could just walk into the grocery store in the nearest town with Max or Fang and get as much food as I wanted. Back then, we could afford to get the luxuries, like cupcakes when Nudge wanted something sweet, or mounds of chocolate to stuff ourselves with, or to have hotdogs _and_ burgers for dinner instead of something that was still twitching on a stick when I bit into it. It was surprising how much our lives had changed in such a short amount of time. Now we couldn't get too much food because we couldn't travel with that much weight. Not to mention the fact that we were almost broke.

Engrossed in these thoughts as I made my way toward the dairy section for some sliced cheese, I bumped into someone. I heard a crash as they fell onto their cart, and startled, I reached out, trying to help whoever I'd knocked over back up. My hand connected with a cotton-like material. "Oh man. Hey, I'm sorry, that was my ba-"

A purse slammed into my head.

"OOWWWW!" I yelled, stumbling away from the attacker.

Alright, I know that usually I'm pretty good with handling pain. We all are. I can't count how many times my nose has been broken, or how many bruises I've gotten from a fight with an Eraser. But I'm pretty sure that right now, if I wasn't blind, I would've been seeing bright lights behind my eyes. What was that purse filled with, rocks?

From down on the floor, I could hear the grunts of the person trying to get back up out of the cart. My groceries were scrambled on the floor around me. I reached up and felt my cheek, where I could tell a bruise would be forming.

Angry, I jumped back up from the ground, then clutched at a shelf beside me when I felt dizziness coming on from the head injury. I opened my mouth to ask this person who the heck they thought they were, but I never got the chance. The purse came back from the other direction.

I fell back against the shelving, grabbing at some of the paper towel rolls stacked on top of it.

"WHAT THE CRAP?!?!?!" I shouted, wanting to know who the heck was trying to beat me up.

"SECURITTTYYY!!!" I heard a frail old-lady-voice yell in front of me. "I'VE BEEN ATTACKED!!!"

I froze for a second, shocked, wondering if the fragile voice I heard in front of me belonged to the person that had just knocked me to the ground. Twice.

"HEEELLPP!!!"

It did.

Okay, pause here for a second please. I don't know which is more embarassing: Getting beaten up by an old lady, or getting beaten up by an old lady with a _purse_.

You tell me.

"SECCUUURRRIIIITTY!!!" she continued to yell.

I could hear the murmuring of other shoppers beginning to gather around us as a crowd formed.

Well crap. I'd promised Max I wouldn't attract any attention to myself, which seemed kind of impossible right now. Attracting attention meant getting caught by the School. Which was bad. How the heck did she and Fang manage to not do that? How the heck did she and Fang expect _me _to not do that?

Trying to fix things, if only for the sake of staying hidden, I picked myself up again and tried to calm the old lady down.

"Uhh, ma'am, I'm sorry. It was just an accident. I mean, I wasn't atta-"

I ducked as I heard the purse coming back at me.

"Hey! Stop!!!" I shouted as I put my arms up to protect my face. I was trying to make this better. What the heck was this lady's problem? Did she not take her medication this morning or something? I was frustrated. Not only was I tired, but I was tired and in the middle of a Wal-Mart getting pounded on by an old person. All I wanted to do right now was knock her out with a ham and get back to the flock.

Looking deep inside me, I summoned my reserves of patience, repeating my mantra from before to myself. "You can do this Ig. You are the man. You own." I couldn't risk exposing the flock.

With some confidence, I turned back to the lady still screaming her head off for security.

"Now listen here, grandma!" I fumed. "I've been having a bad day already. and I don't need you telling me that I'm trying to atta-"

A cane cracked down over my left shoulder.

"AAAHHH!" I yelled again, partly out of anger, mostly out of pain.

This time, an old-man-voice answered me.

"Who are you! What are you thinking, hurting my Eugenia?! Why, I'll show you!"

The old man, who I supposed was Eugenia's husband, proceeded to attack me with his cane.

"OOWWW! HELP ME! SOMEONE STOP THE MADNESS!!!" I yelled, curled up on the ground with my arms over my head as the cane came down hard on me repeatedly. I could actually feel myself turning purple and yellow and green.

I could now barely hear myself yell over the crowd that had slowly gathered around us. A bunch of the shoppers had started egging the old couple on, and a bunch were rooting for me. It was like a typical public fight scene.

Unfortunately, I was losing.

I mean, before, I was just trying to not bring attention to myself. But now, the old guy had me down and wasn't letting me back up. Just as I was about to let loose some awesome ninja-birdkid moves that would definitely attract attention, no matter what Max said, I heard pounding footsteps running toward me and the crowd.

My ears were ringing from the cane/purse injuries, but even through that, I could hear the deep voices of men yelling at everyone to back off. I was guessing they were Wal-Mart security. They rushed in and managed to pull the old guy off of me before they grabbed me under the arms and hauled me up off the ground. I could tell that there were about five men there, bigger than me (although being a bird-kid, I know that bigger doesn't always mean stronger). Three were holding me down as I desperately tried to get away from grandpa, and two were holding grandpa away from me. He still, however, managed to clip me on the jaw with his cane one more time.

"GEEZ, YOU OLD GEEZER!!!" I shouted, feeling warm blood trickle down my neck. I earned myself a cuff on the head from one of the guards holding my arms behind my back.

"As for you," the guard said, "I think we're gonna need to take you downtown. The police might wanna have a talk with your parents about this."

I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, well good luck finding my parents." I scoffed to myself.

This was stupid. Two old people ruthlessly attack a helpless fourteen year old in the middle of a store, and the fourteen year old gets in trouble for it? Did these people not realize I was blind? What happened to justice? To equal rights?

Before I had the chance to ask the security guards my dire questions, they had each firmly grabbed a hold of me and were pulling me away from the fight scene. I could hear the crowd shift around us as I was dragged through it, lots of whispering over what had just occured.

Suddenly, something that the guard had said registered in my brain.

"Wait, where are you guys taking me?! Where are we going?!" I asked desperately.

"_You_ are going down-town to the police station, where the police are going to call your parents to come take you home, mister." the first guard said.

Well great. That was just what I needed. Because what would attract more attention than taking a trip down to the local police station in a state cruiser? Even I had to admit now, I had gotten myself into more trouble than I could get myself out of. Clenching my teeth, I began repeating again. "You can do this. You are the man. You own." I just had to figure out how to get away from these guards.

"Didn't your mother teach you to respect your seniors?" another guard asked, causing the others to laugh.

I grumbled something obscene under my breath.

"What was that, kid?" the first guard asked, squeezing my arm harder than he already had it.

"Uhh.." I drifted off. I had to distract the guards somehow so I could get away.

Thinking hard, I pointed in a random direction and shouted, "Oh look! It's a giant doughnut!!!"

"Huh?"

I could feel the guards' holds on me loosening as they turned in the direction I was pointing, completely distracted.

"What was that, kid?" One guard asked. "A doughnut?" Suckers.

I was off in a flash.

Wrenching my arms out of their grasps, I ducked and ran, narrowly dodging other shoppers and racks of merchandise. I shot toward the front entrance, intending to get the heck out of there fast since I could hear the guards as they scrambled to run after me.

Trying to buy myself time, (because no matter how fast I was, I was blind and in unfamiliar territory, so they were bound to catch up) I zig-zagged through the aisles, running one of my hands along the shelves to guide me, and using the other to shove things off the shelves behind me and trip the guards. I could hear glass breaking behind me as I pushed vases and pottery from the home decor aisle to the floor, and I heard a yell from one guard as he went down. Turning, I ran into what I assumed was the kids' section. I grabbed handfuls of Barbies and Kens and chucked them behind me blindly (Literally. See what I did there? It's like, I threw them blindly... and I'm... okay.), making sure to hold onto one for Angel.

As I was running, I randomly thought about how funny it would be if Barbie were real, and actually attacking Wal-Mart security for me. I could almost see her yelling, "Fear me and my pink purse of doom!!!" while mowing down guards with her designer golf cart.

Laughing out loud at the mental picture, I failed to dodge a bin that was sitting in the middle of the aisle holding a bunch of balls. I ran straight into it, falling to the ground and knocking it over, and sending a hundred balls rolling through the store. On the ground, I grimaced and rubbed my hip bone, which had colllided first with the metal bin. I was sure I would have a bruise there the next morning too. Suddenly, I heard the guards run into my aisle. Grumbling, I shot back up to my feet and, for good measure, threw a couple of the rubber balls behind me to slow them down before I continued running.

Rushing past bubbling fish tanks and hunting gear, where I could hear men arguing over shotguns, I grabbed some bags of dried jerky and stuffed them into my pockets, and then ran into the next aisle, where I grabbed something else. I did this in each aisle, running through and grabbing what felt useful, and then stuffing it in my pockets or balancing it in my arms. I grabbed countless boxes and bags, and I even managed to grab a gallon of milk out of one of the refrigerators without getting caught.

Laughing maniacally at the craziness of the situation, I skipped through the clothing section, grabbing a couple shirts along the way. I heard more than one person jump out of my way as I bulldozed a path through the store. I felt so free, so light. After a rotten day, I guess terrorizing a grocery store was exactly what I'd needed.

I had been doing a pretty good job of staying away from the men, but I was quickly brought down from my high when I felt one of the guards catch up to me and grab my arm again.

The poor guy was wheezing and coughing from the chase, but he managed to hold onto me as I tried to pull away.

Reaching out with my free hand, I desperately groped around till I found a solid object. Clutching it, I pulled it off the rack and swung it straight at the guard's head. It would've worked out well...had the object not been a purse. A pink purse, from its feel.

Of course. Because that's how this whole day had gone.

"Haha! He's gonna hurt me with his purse!" the guard yelled to his nearing friends, holding tight to my arm as if it were the last life-boat on the Titanic.

Angry, I slammed the hand that was holding the purse down onto the shelf beside me. Couldn't anything work out in my favor for just once?

Suddenly, the shelf I had hit trembled underneath my hand.

I froze for a second, wondering if I had broken Wal-Mart.

And that's when the entire shelf fell and it started raining purses. I felt a few purses hit me on their way down, and I'm sure more than a few hit the guard because he let go of me to shield his head in surprise.

The craziness of the situation was enough to make me 'look' down at the purse in my hand, back up at the cowering guard, and then yell something that would have made Barbie proud.

"FEAR ME AND MY PINK PURSE OF DOOM!!!!!"

Cackling, I turned to bolt off down the aisle toward safety, but only managed to run a few steps before I slammed straight into a rack of clothes. I found myself on the ground for the fourth time that day.

Moaning at my stupidity, I tried to untangle myself from the clothes and the rack that had somehow managed to wrap themselves around me. Fumbling with skirts and dresses, I guessed I only had a few seconds before the guards caught up to me. Which was a bummer because I knew for a fact that I was a mere three-hundred feet from the entrance. A mere three-hundred feet from freedom. A mere three-hundred feet away from _craziness_. And so, screwing the rack, I jumped up with the entire thing still around my shoulders and ran.

So now I was barreling through Wal-Mart with the rack of clothes around my body, frantically wondering if this situation could get any worse.

Of course, that's when the situation got worse.

I was running through the freezer section when I suddenly became aware of a snapping sound near my ankles, and then a loud bark as a tiny little dog chased after me. By the cute, wimpy growls it was emitting, I was guessing it was something like a chihuahua. How it was managing to keep up with me on those drumsticks it called legs, I don't know, although I had to admit, the rack did slow me down a little. The chihuahua managed to nip my ankles a couple of times, drawing blood, and ignored my clumsy kicks and curses.

Behind the dog, I could hear a lady, its owner, running after us, yelling "Pinky!!! Come back, baby!!!" And behind her, the guards were still trying to keep up. And I was still wearing a twenty-pound rack. I was guessing I was probably screwed.

But you know what? In the next instance, it didn't matter.

Because guess what I could smell?

_The outside world._

...I know.

I sucked in a deep breath of smoggy freedom, and dashed toward the open automatic doors, whooping for joy.

I was getting closer...and closer...and now I was running through the doors...and now I was...stopping?

The air in my lungs was forced out in a big whoosh!, as I ran into the rack around my shoulders that had mysteriously stopped moving with me.

Gasping for air, I tried to push forward, wondering what had happened. It didn't make sense that half of me was still inside Wal-Mart, and the other half was standing outside.

And that's when it dawned on me that the rack wasn't big enough to fit through the doors.

Well darn.

Two guards ran up to me and grabbed the rack, pulling back to drag me inside.

I had to get out of the rack. It the only way to get outside.

Thrashing, I tried to untangle the clothes around my body, but they stayed firmly attached. So thinking fast, I dropped down to the ground. The guards, who had not expected this, kept pulling long enough to yank the accursed rack right off of me, along with most of the clothes. They fell onto the ground, the rack on top of them. I heard Pinky's owner run up and grab Pinky (who by now had managed to rip my ankles up), and start cooing at it, trying to calm it down. I felt around me, picking up the few things I had managed to hold on to during the wild chase. Clutching them to my chest, I stood back up shakily. I ignored the few pieces of clothing still stuck to me. They didn't hinder movement, so therefore, they weren't important.

And then I turned, and ran outside into the night.

Max's POV:

"Would you chill, Max?! How am I supposed to get my beauty sleep with you pacing around like that."

I shot a glare at Fang as I passed by him again.

How was he not worried? Iggy had been gone for almost an hour now. Which was pretty long, considering he only had to get about five things.

Grimacing, I berated myself yet again for letting him even go. How could I have been so stupid?

Just as I was about to send Fang off to look for Iggy, I heard something rustling in the bushes at one end of the clearing.

Freezing, I snapped toward the sound and went on alert. I really hoped it wasn't Erasers, or Flyboys, or a bear, or something even remotely dangerous. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw that Fang had jumped up as well, his fists clenching, ready for a fight.

Then, just as I was about to freak out and issue an up and away, Iggy blundered out of the darkness.

I relaxed for a second, letting out the breath I'd been holding. I was relieved it was just him, glad he was back okay.

And then I really saw him.

It took my brain a few seconds to register what Iggy looked like, but when it did, the muscles around my mouth decided to stop working and just let it hang open.

Iggy looked like Mardi Gras. Purple and green and yellow bruises coated his body. His shirt was ripped in more than one place, as were his pants. There was some blood on his neck, and a lot on his ankles, along with a bunch of scratch marks, and his hair was mussed up. There were crushed boxes and ripped bags in his arms and falling out of his pockets, and hooked over his left shoulder was a pink, glittery purse. An empty hanger was poking out of the back of his shirt.

I was broken out of my shocked stare by Fang's badly concealed snort of laughter.

Smacking Fang hard, I rushed up to Iggy, taking things out of his arms, patting him down to make sure nothing was broken.

"Oh my gosh! Iggy, are you okay?! What the heck happened, were there Flyboys? Erasers?..."

I drifted off as I realized that he wasn't even listening to me. Instead, he was muttering something under his breath. Leaning in closer, I could hear him repeating something.

"You can do this. You are the man. You own. You can do this. You are the man. You own."

"Uh...Ig? Iggy, you alright?" He waved me away and dropped to the ground where he was. He fell asleep almost immediately, mouth still open.

Dazed, I looked back at Fang, who was still trying to hide his laughter.

"It's not funny Fang! He's hurt! He could've...could've..."

Fang looked at me. "Could've what?"

"I dunno... but I knew it was a bad idea to send him alone to Wal-Mart! I told you so!"

Fang laughed again. "Oh come on, Max. He probably got into a fight with one of the locals on the way back. Some gangsters, I dunno. I mean, what's the worst that could happen in a Wal-Mart?"

Frowning, I shrugged. "Well...I guess." I admitted. "But still! Next time, you're going with him!"

Fang rolled his eyes, and then pushed me back down to the ground. "Fine. Now get some rest. I'll take the next watch."

Grudgingly obeying, I rested my head against my backpack and closed my eyes, promising myself that I'd clear this up the next morning.

The last thing I heard before I drifted off to sleep was Fang silently chuckling.

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Alright, so there it was. I need to know if this honestly came out okay, what with Iggy being blind and all. This chapter felt a bit skitzy to me, and maybe not as good as it could have been? Also, someone please criticize me. :) I'd love that. (Not in a mean way, of course.) It just helps to know when I need to improve on something. So review and tell me what you think.


	2. Crispy

What would I do without Google? Sorry for not updating in a while, I do have a life. :) Let's just get on with the fic.

Disclaimer: No lo propio.

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I coughed as I tried to navigate through the thick black smoke wafting through the kitchen door. Somewhere up above me, the smoke detector was going crazy, beeping loudly and incessantly, and I tried covering my nose and my ears simultaneously. Through the haze of smoke, I could just barely see Max fumbling around the kitchen, frantically trying to put out whatever she'd set on fire.

"What the heck are you doing in a _kitchen_?" I yelled above the smoke detector. I hadn't realized the magnanimity of this situation until I'd seen Max in the middle of it.

"Shut up!" she yelled back, tripping over a chair leg in the process.

I moved forward into the kitchen and grabbed a hand towel.

"Where's the fire?" I shouted.

Coughing, one hand clamped over her mouth, Max pointed a finger toward the oven, where I saw the smoke was thickest.

Shaking my head and braving bronchitis, I moved toward the oven, holding the towel out in front of me like a weapon. Waving some of the smoke away, I caught a brief glimpse of the poor oven, flames licking out of its barely open door. Using the towel as a mitt, I grasped the hot handle of the door and pulled it all the way down, jumping back as the flames leaped out at me. My towel wouldn't be enough to put out the flames.

Looking back over my shoulder at Max, I yelled, "Get the fire extinguisher!"

She pulled herself to her feet. "There is no fire extinguisher!"

"Well crap!"

"Yeah!"

Looking around wildly, I tried to find something that could put out the fire. Finding nothing, I rushed out into the hallway and shouted for Iggy. If anyone had experience with fire in this house, it was Iggy. He appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Iggy, there's a fire in the kitchen!"

He rolled his eyes. "No, Fang. The smoke detectors were going off just because they wanted to."

I ignored him. "Where's the fire extinguisher?"

"There isn't one!"

I threw my arms up. "Why the heck don't we have a fire extinguisher?"

"Well, Max had to use it last week during the incident with your pants, and-"

"MY PANTS?"

Iggy, going red in the face, backtracked. "Uh, I mean, the point is-"

Max burst out of the kitchen. "Boys! Can we discuss this later? The house is kinda burning down!"

Shaking my head, I turned back toward her. "Right. How do we put the fire out?"

"Uhh.." Drifting off, she pondered for a few moments. Suddenly, her face lit up, and she rushed back inside the kitchen.

I shot a glare at Iggy, despite the fact he couldn't see it, and followed her.

I heard Max fumbling through the cabinets, shoving pots and pans to the floor. She grabbed one and ran to the sink with it. Filling it to the brim with water, she proceeded to run over to the oven and chuck it onto the flames.

The flames burst out at her, then creeped back lower than before. I ran forward and swatted at the last licks of flames with my hand towel. A potful of water and a couple more swats later, Max and I stood watching the last wisps of smoke billow away from the oven. For a minute, the smoke alarm was the only sound in the house.

Max coughed once. "So...um..." She drifted off.

I turned toward her. "What exactly were you doing?" I ground out.

The oven was shot. The edges around the door were black and burned, and the metal that the door was made of looked slightly melted. The metal racks in the oven still glowed slightly red, as well as the tray full of whatever the heck Max had been trying to bake. It was obvious that we'd need a new one.

"Um. I was hungry?" She shot me a hesitant look.

"Wonderful." I replied, sarcasm dripping from my voice.

"Hey! Whoa, how is this my fault?"

"Um, maybe because you were the one who set the house on fire?"

"Well, maybe if someone would feed me, I wouldn't have to take matters into my own hands!"

"Ha! Well I guess I'll know better than to let you bake...bake...what the heck were you baking anyway?"

Reaching into the oven with the towel, I pried one of the hard black mounds off the metal tray and inspected it.

"What is this, a rock?"

Giving me an indignant look, Max snatched the rock out of my hand.

"No! It's supposed to be a cookie."

I laughed.

"Hey!" She responded defensively. "There's nothing wrong with it! It's still edible."

I cocked my eyebrow at her. "Oh yeah? Then let's see you eat it."

She paused as she considered what she wanted to protect most - her pride, or her mouth. Then, hesitantly taking the rock-cookie out of my hand, she proceeded to sniff it.

I gave her a look. "Oh come on, Max. You know you can't eat that."

Glaring at me, Max nibbled on the end of the cookie, and then took a small bite. I could see the coal black crumbs coating her tongue as she immediately gagged, and then tried to swallow.

Rolling my eyes, I walked over to the sink, filled a cup with water, and shoved it into Max's hand. She downed it in one gulp.

Watching her wipe her mouth with the back of her hand, I asked casually, "So, how was it?" She glanced up to see me smirking.

Glaring once again, she straightened up and replied in a haughty voice.

"Crispy."

Then, turning on her heel, she marched out of the kitchen.

I waited until I heard the back door slam before I laughed.

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Like it? Hate it? Review. (Oh, and by the way: No, you probably should not put a fire out that way in real life.) (...Seriously, I don't wanna be responsible for anyone's death because they had a kitchen fire and thought this was how you put it out. Don't.) Sorry I'm in a bit of a hurry, I had to make this short. Hope you enjoyed. :)


	3. Angry

**Authors Note: So I realize I've been gone for months and months and months. But what can I say? College is like a time leecher. It just kinda attaches to you and starts sucking away all of your free time. I've barely had time to read fanfics, much less write them. However, Christmas break started yesterday, so I'm home (yay!) and have finally written another chapter. More on that, but I'll see you at the bottom after you've read it. :) Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer****: I do not, and never will, own Maximum Ride.**

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Nudge's POV:

Humming, I skipped into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door. Grabbing a can of cola, I popped it open. I turned around and took a sip, glancing at Iggy who was washing the dishes.

"How's it going over there, Iggy?" I asked casually.

Shooting a glare in my general direction, he replied snidely, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

I stifled the urge to laugh. Ever since I had won that bet with Iggy, he'd had to do all of my chores, much to his displeasure.

"Why, Iggy!" I giggled. "You sound like you actually _don't like_ doing my work."

Iggy stayed silent as he washed the suds from his hands, but I noticed that he shut the sink off with a little more force than was necessary.

Smirking, I made to leave the kitchen when he suddenly spoke.

"Rematch."

I turned back around. "What?"

"What do you think about having a little rematch?"

I laughed. "Oh, so you wanna race around the backyard again?"

"No. But I want a rematch."

I considered for a moment. "Winner gets what?" I asked warily.

He smiled evilly at me. "We'll decide that when _I_ win."

I laughed again. "Oh, in your dreams, Iggy!" I had a long history of betting incidents with Iggy, all of which I had won. Let's just say that luck was never in his favor when it came to card games.

Iggy shook his head. "Whatever, Nudge. Just tell me if you agree."

I cocked an eyebrow. So he was serious about this. Well, that would make it all the better when I won again.

"Sure." I smiled in anticipation. "Whatever you say, Iggy."

This was gonna be a piece of cake.

-_ 2 hours later_ -

I stared down in shock at Iggy's cards.

"That's impossible! You didn't...but I...and..."

"What was that, Nudge?" Iggy asked with a smirk. "Can't accept the taste of defeat?"

I shook my head in disbelief. How was it even possible that a blind guy could win at poker? I mean, granted, he'd had Gazzy read him his cards, and I'd totally slacked off this round because I thought it would be an easy win, but...

"So, ready to pay the price?" Iggy tilted his head and smiled an evil smile at me, no doubt thinking of terrible ways to get back at me for all the times I'd tortured him.

Uh-oh.

"Now let's see. Gazzy, what do _you _think would be Nudge's worst nightmare?" Iggy motioned toward Gazzy, who was currently shifting his gaze between me and Iggy, shocked and confused himself at the turn of the events.

"Uh, well. I mean...you could..." He drifted off.

"Really, Gazzy?" Iggy shook his head and turned back to me.

"_I_ think Nudge's worst nightmare would be..." He stroked his chin thoughtfully as he considered, then grinned. _"Not talking."_

Oh no. I froze.

He couldn't.

I mean, did I look like _Fang_?

Iggy smirked as he took in my silence. "Hmm, seems I've hit a nerve, eh Nudge?"

Refusing to give him the satisfaction of revenge, I flipped my hair over my shoulder nonchalantly and replied, "You wish, Iggy. I mean, not talking? Fang does that every day. This is gonna be so pathetically easy." I gave an awkward laugh.

Iggy shrugged. "Sure, Nudge. Whatever stops the tears. Just remember that from the moment you wake up tomorrow morning to the end of the day, you're not allowed to say _anything_. Got it?"

I stifled a mock yawn. "Uh-huh."

Iggy gave me one final smile before heading out the kitchen door with Gazzy.

I grimaced as soon as he was gone. Tomorrow was going to be one interesting day.

-_ The Next Day -_

I yawned as I shuffled into the kitchen in my bunny slippers and pj's. It was the morning of a seemingly normal day: Total was already intently reading the morning newspaper, Max's mom was flipping pancakes at the stove, and I was the third one up, as usual. I took a pitcher of juice from the refrigerator and poured some into a glass, carrying it to the island that sat in the middle of the kitchen. A vague feeling that I had forgotten something important washed over me, but I ignored it and returned my attention to the pancakes. I was about to tell Dr. Martinez that I wanted a couple dozen when a hand came from behind me and covered my mouth. Iggy's voice appeared next to my ear.

"Uh uh uuh." He chastised.

I turned to face him, confused for a second. I opened my mouth to ask him what he meant when another hand clamped itself to my mouth.

Gazzy appeared shaking his head at me. "Nope, remember Nudge? You can't talk."

That's when it hit me. I'd forgotten about the bet.

I opened my mouth to say something when Iggy covered my mouth again. "You think she'd last longer if we used this?" Iggy asked Gazzy, holding up a roll of duct tape. Gazzy laughed.

I was just about to tell them to shut up, when I realized that I couldn't. Well geez, it was five minutes into the day and I had almost already talked four times.

Glaring at the two boys, I got up and walked past them to get my own pancakes. Just then, Fang walked in. Glancing at me, he nodded in greeting. I glared at him, in sharp contrast to my usual perky, "Good morning!" He cocked his eyebrow at me questioningly.

"What's up?" he asked.

I silently seethed.

Confused, he turned to Iggy, who said, "I won a bet. She can't talk for the rest of the day."

"Aahh." Fang smiled slightly and turned back to me. "You should've seen this one coming."

I huffed angrily as I took a stack of pancakes back to the table and sat down to eat.

I could feel the others staring at me while I scarfed down my food, as if they were waiting for me to burst. Well, I wasn't going to give them that satisfaction. I managed to make it through breakfast without making a single sound.

Standing up, I rinsed my plate in the kitchen sink and placed it in the dishwasher before stalking out of the kitchen and into the living room.

Flopping onto the couch, I turned the T.V. on, hoping to distract myself.

I had just begun to relax when Max walked into the room and sat down next to me.

"Hey, you mind if I change the channel? Mom asked me to check the news." I handed her the remote silently.

Surprised by the lack of words, Max took the remote and changed the channel. We sat and watched the news for almost half an hour, with Max throwing hesitant glances at me because of my stoic silence.

I guessed she hadn't heard about the bet yet, and wondered what she would think of it. So far, everyone that knew about the bet had laughed at the idea of me trying to make it a day without talking, and I couldn't blame them. I mean, hey! I doubted myself, right? In fact, I was even a little proud of myself for making it this far into the day without a single word. Still, it would feel nice to know that someone believed in me.

Aggravated by these thoughts, I needed to distract myself again. I held my hand out for the remote.

Max glanced at me. "What?" she asked, confused.

I shook the hand held out toward her, then pointed at the remote control, then at the T.V.

"What's wrong?"

Sighing, I held my hand out again, looking pointedly at the remote.

"You...wanna change the channel?" She gave me a wierd look.

I nodded.

"...why aren't you talking?"

Fang walked in. "She lost a bet against Iggy." he explained.

Max grimaced at me. "Ooh, you shoulda seen that coming, Nudge. You know how he gets when it comes to revenge." She patted my knee consolingly.

I sighed again, nodding my head. Max handed the remote over to me and I changed the channel.

After watching T.V. with me for another hour, Max got up and left, only to be replaced by Iggy, Gazzy, and Angel.

"So, how's your day been so far, Nudge?" Iggy asked casually, dropping onto the couch beside me.

I grumbled in response.

Laughing, Iggy motioned a hand towards Angel.

"I've decided to hire Angel here to keep you company for the rest of the day. And, you know, keep an eye on that mouth of yours?" It was kinda obvious he didn't trust me.

I cocked an eyebrow at Angel, puzzled. She usually took my side in fights like this, just like Gazzy took Iggy's and Fang took Max's.

Angel replied, "Well, when he says hired, he means blackmailed." She gave me an embarrased smile. "See, I kinda did something bad that Iggy knows about that Max doesn't, and..." she drifted off.

I nodded in sympathy to show I understood. She and I were kind of in the same boat.

_"Yes, exactly." _Angel commented in my head.

Iggy rubbed his hands together excitedly. "Okay Nudge, I'll be checking in with Angel to make sure you stay quiet every once in a while, so don't think you'll get any slack from her, alright? I'll see you later!"

Jumping up from the couch, Iggy and Gazzy left the room and Angel sat down on the floor across from the couch and crossed her legs, giving me an apologetic look.

Frustrated that I couldn't even cheat, I turned the T.V. off in a huff and sat for a few minutes in angry silence before I heard a voice.

"You know, it's not that hard."

I jumped. I'd forgotten Fang was even in the room. I saw him sitting in an armchair, watching me.

I shot him a confused look.

"The not talking thing." he clarified. "You can do it. It's not as hard as you think. Just take a deep breath and count to ten when you get the urge to talk, and you won't need to anymore. It'll calm you down, so you don't break in front of Iggy."

I stared at Fang, surprised he had said so much, and gave him a small nod. However, I refused to believe that it could be that easy. Taking a deep breath? Where the heck did Fang even come up with that. I retreated back into my angry thoughts. After a few more minutes, Fang got up and walked out of the room.

"Don't worry, Fang was just trying to help." Angel offered kindly, obviously having heard my internal fuming. "I mean, it's not like he was trying to make you feel worse." I grudgingly nodded.

"Well," she went on, "of course, it probably makes you feel pretty bad when other people talk and you can't, so maybe he made you mad because of that, but he was just being nice. And besides, you could always try his advice out. Maybe it might work. And coming from Fang, you know he meant it because he only ever says stuff that's important." Angel nodded knowingly, ending her speech.

I glared at her for a second. Was it just me, or was she mocking me? And that too at my lowest moment? I didn't know what to say.

Oh wait. I couldn't say anything.

Well, now was as good a time as ever to try out Fang's advice. I took a deep breath, counting to ten, and by the end, I did feel surprisingly calmer.

Then, Angel, still staring at me, decided to speak up again.

"Was it something I said?"

Clenching my fists, I shot up from the couch and marched out to the back porch, intending to scream out a few choice words in the privacy of the backyard. Angel knew better than to follow.

Unfortunately, when I slammed the porch screen behind me, Total was already reclining in a lawn chair, nose buried in a book. I slumped down onto the chair beside him, hoping fervently for him to stay silent. The last thing I needed was someone yapping their mouth off when I couldn't.

But then, today wasn't exactly my day.

"Aah!" Total relished. "The joys of reading the words of Kipling! Nudge, just look at this! The beauty! The art! The words just roll off your tongue!"

I groaned inwardly and took the book he pushed toward me, knowing it was useless to argue. I glanced through the first few pages, taking in a few words from each and nodding and pretending I was paying attention to Total ramble on about this Kipling guy. After all, since when did I care about poetry?

Then again... maybe Kipling was smarter than I thought. He made good use of his writing. I mean, if I couldn't talk, I could always write, right? Or even type! I didn't have to _talk _to communicate with people!

Excited, I jumped up from the chair, causing the book to fall off my lap and onto the porch, much to Total's displeasure. I went inside the house and up to the girls' room and grabbed the first notebook and pen I saw.

After all, Iggy had never said anything about writing, had he?

Excited about the loophole I had found, I rushed back downstairs to show Angel my discovery. I rushed down the staircase, down the hallway, and was going full speed through the dining room when I tripped on one of the chair legs at the dining table. My notebook and pen went flying as I fell to the ground, and my ankle twisted as I fell, sending a sharp pain up my leg. Well great. This was definitely _not_ my best day.

Groaning at my luck, I rolled over onto my back and rubbed my nose, which had (luckily) broken my fall. Opening my eyes, I blearily looked up, discovering that I had rolled under the dining table and was now looking up at the underside of it.

Wait...I was under the dining table...

The dining table Iggy and I had played poker at.

The dining table Iggy had _won_ at poker at.

The dining table that, I could now see, had _cards stuck to the bottom of it!_

...Well, needless to say, I was furious.

As I lay there, I clenched my fist, thinking of various ways to get back at Iggy for cheating (all of which were quite violent). I couldn't wait to get my hands on him! I mean, I knew that it was wierd that he had won at poker, and I should have suspected him of doing something like this! However, just as I was about to jump up from my spot and find that cheating loser, Iggy's words from the day before came back to me.

_"Just remember that from the moment you wake up tomorrow morning to the end of the day, you're not allowed to say anything."_

Hmm...

I thought back over those words as my lips slowly curled up into a smirk.

'Well well well, Iggy,' I thought. 'Looks like I've found _two_ loopholes.'

_- 11:58 p.m. -_

I giggled silently as I snuck out of my bed while trying not to wake Max or Ella. Angel gave me a thumbs-up from her sleeping bag before I slipped out the door, ready to execute my master plan.

I crept down the dark hallway in my pajamas, and paused when I reached the boys' room, looking down at my watch. The numbers glowed _11:59_.

I smiled.

Then, turning the doorknob, I entered the room. Fang, already up at the sound of the doorknob turning, sat up in his sleeping bag. I ignored the questioning look he gave me as I silently moved past Gazzy's bed and approached Iggy's. I casually sat down on it, and looked down at my watch one more time before reaching over to turn on the bedside lamp. It was now 12:00.

Iggy stirred at the click.

"Wha? Huh?"

I leaned close to him, my smile growing bigger as I thought of how he wasn't going to get anymore sleep tonight.

"Hello, Iggy." I said simply.

For a second, I could tell Iggy was confused.

Then, his face widened into a gigantic grin as realized that I had just spoken. He sat up, punching the air. "YES! I _knew_ you couldn't do it, Nudge! I _knew_ you'd break before the day was over! YES!" Then proceeded to laugh in my face.

Which, of course, only made me smile more.

"Really, Iggy?" I asked. "_Did_ I break before the day was over?"

At this, Iggy momentarily stopped his little victory rant and snorted. "Well, yeah, of course! You weren't supposed to talk until tomorrow, and as far as I know, it's only-"

"12:01, now." I stated, cutting him off. "Which I'm pretty sure makes it tomorrow. Right, Iggy?"

Iggy froze. I laughed as I watched the smirk dissapear from his face, replaced with a frown. "But...but you can't..." He drifted off, realizing I was right.

"What's going on?" Gazzy asked sleepily from behind me. I guess all of Iggy's yelling had woken him up.

"Nothing." I shrugged nonchalantly, turning to him for a moment. "I just proved Iggy wrong."

I turned back to Iggy, who spoke.

"Well," he fought to keep his pride. "Fine." he said, with venom in his voice. " You won. Alright?" He reached over to turn the lamp back off before I stopped him.

I laughed again. "Oh no, Iggy. It's _not_ alright."

Iggy's face began to show dread as he realized that I meant to get my revenge on him.

"In fact, that's why I'm here." I made myself comfy on his bed, making it obvious I wasn't going to leave anytime soon. "After all, _so much_ happened today. We have a lot to talk about, don't we? Almost enough to...say, take _all night long_?"

Iggy groaned. Tonight was gonna be a long night for him.

* * *

**Okay, so not my best work, I know. You may berate me in your reviews, if you wish. However, this is probably my first time 'fun writing' in months, so cut me some slack? College essays are even less fun than they sound. :) Okay, so I make no promises on when the next chapter will be up. However, rest assured that there _will_ be another one. After all, we're only, like 3 chapters into this, right? And I intend to finish it! So keep you eyes peeled if you're interested in more, and I'll try to update quick. Thanks for reading!**


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